Murder City

Michael Lesy, who exposed the violence of 19th-century small-town America in his classic WISCONSIN DEATH TRIP, turns to Chicago during the Jazz Age. Using an abundance of period newspaper clippings and shocking photographs, Lesy exposes the lurid and willfully savage underbelly of America`s second city. Everyone knows that Chicago in the 1920s was a crime-ridden locale, so MURDER CITY might not be as startling as WISCONSIN DEATH TRIP. What is surprising is that most of the violence is not mob-related. Lesy ignores well-known stories like the St. Valentine`s Day Massacre, and instead reveals a seemingly endless litany of gruesome domestic disputes, revenge plots, and acts of violence for its own sake that led Chicago to become the country`s most lethal town. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.